CAMPING WITH KIDS

FAMILY CAMPING

10 THINGS I’VE LEARNED FROM CAMPING WITH KIDS

KEY LESSONS FROM LIFE ON THE ROAD

Adventurer and Gavin Campbell is father to three boys - aged three, fi ve and eight - so you might imagine that packing, travelling and setting up camp would be an organisational nightmare. But, as he explains, it doesn’t have to be.

As we have a large family, if we want to get away regularly throughout the spring and summer without leaving our wallets wincing, we need to stay in the UK – and for us this mostly means camping. But camping doesn’t always stem from the necessity of saving a few pounds. Our trips always create some incredible memories, even if they don’t always go to plan.

For example: every year, we go to a place called Eweleaze Farm, in Dorset. A couple of years ago we arrived at the site during a spell of the most beautiful, calm weather, and the camp we set up was just about perfect – just like you see on the internet. Imagine our surprise then, to be woken in the early hours to howling wind and the tent fl exing to within an inch of its life – so much so that the roof was being forced down to our noses, and it felt like at any point we could be washed into the sea. Our tent had become a sail, with us inside it. It was horrendous. For every one of those experiences, however, we have countless more that are positive: like the time my partner and I discovered a spot in Wales that was just so perfect we swore never to share the details with anyone.

Over the past eight years we’ve refi ned our set up, and learned things that help make all our camping trips fun - whatever the weather. Here are a few pearls of hard-earned wisdom.

Gavin Campbell’s kids enjoying the fruits of their parents’ careful preparations. Photos: Gavin Campbell

KID’S ESSENTIALS

VANGO NITESTAR JUNIOR £40

OSPREY DAYLITE KIDS £35 01 OCCUPY THE KIDS WHEN YOU’RE SETTING UP

Before our youngest was born, I took our two older boys for a weekend away. If I hadn’t brought our iPad along, fully loaded with episodes of Peppa Pig and Ninjago, I’d probably still be trying to put the tent up now. Start off on the right foot – take something you know will keep them occupied for an hour or so when you’re setting up.

02 GIVE THEM WALKIE-TALKIES

With three boys who like to explore, walkie-talkies have become an essential part of every camping trip. We have some pretty basic Motorola radios with a range of roughly a kilometre, and they’re super simple to use. Just push to talk, and let go to listen. Knowing that we can get in touch with them – and vice-versa – means they can all go and play down the fi eld without mum and dad breathing down their neck. The kids get their independence and autonomy, and their parents can make dinner together.

03 GET YOUR KIDS THEIR OWN OUTDOORS KIT

CAMELBAK EDDY KIDS £17

A torch is a vital piece of kit for night-time at camp. Kids love torches in general, especially the super powerful LED torches that make you feel like you’re holding a lightsaber. However, to save your and everyone else’s eyesight, it’s best not to give them lightsabers, but rather their own head torch – one with a red light. They’ll be occupied for the evening and everyone’s night vision will remain intact. As well as their own torch, I’d recommend buying kids a set of binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a fi shing net too. I fi nd that anything that helps them have their own unique outdoors experience generally benefi ts everyone.

04 IT’S NOT A FASHION SHOW

Keep clothes to a minimum, check the weather, and bring appropriate gear. One outfi t per day and a few spares for any accidents, and that’s it. If they have to wear grubby shorts for two days on the bounce, so be it. Embrace being outdoors! And bring onesies for the night-times too, when the sun starts to set, put their pyjamas on and the onesie over that. Then, later on, when it’s time for bed there’ll be no need for anyone to get a chill on the nethers. Just remove the onesie and you’re good to go.

05 BRING TOYS, BUT BRING THE RIGHT ONES

In the early days we packed it all – cars, trucks, Playmobil fi gures, dinosaurs, books, crayons, you name it – out of fear of them running out of things to do. These days, we’ve learned just to give them a small tote bag each to fi ll, and encourage open-ended toys like Lego, magnetic tiles etc. as these are all things they can do both together and individually. Get a mat too, or you’ll be there all night fi shing plastic bricks out of the grass. And the last thing you want is to tread on one of those barefoot when you’re getting up to go to the loo in the night.

06 USE CONTAINERS FOR EVERYTHING

Whether it’s those crates your shopping comes in or something purpose-made, packing your stuff into diff erent containers is a great idea. Other than bedding, I like to have a box for everything. Camping essentials such as knives, torches, fi rst aid kit, fi relighters, etc.? There’s a box for that. Food and groceries? In their own box. Accessories, bunting, fairy lights? Their own box too… You get the picture. It’s much easier to pack this way, but most importantly, it’s infi nitely easier to fi nd things when you need them.

“Dinosaurs, crayons, cars - we used to bring it all”

“Do your family a favour and bring hot water bottles”

07 COOK YOUR FIRST MEAL IN ADVANCE

This one is a game changer and has become something we do every single time. Before every trip we’ll make a one-pot meal and freeze it ahead of time. This way the frozen meal helps keep the chiller cool on the journey down and you already have dinner sorted for the fi rst night. A great little win-win.

08 TAKE A CHILLER BOX

Speaking of chillers, it’s worth freezing a few one litre bottles of water a couple of days before your trip and putting them into your chiller 24 hours before you leave. You basically want to lower the temperature of your chiller before putting your ice blocks and food in. Then pack the stuff you actually want to keep cool last, right before you leave. We consistently get a full weekend of cold food and beverages doing it this way.

09 TAKE HOT WATER BOTTLES

It can get cold at night and moist with dew. Do your family a favour and bring hot water bottles. They will take the edge off that cold, and make sliding into your tent and sleeping bag that bit more enjoyable. I have a little hack here too, and it’s one that feeds into the need to have our gear do double duty. The trusty Nalgene water bottle is a great water vessel, but it can also withstand some heat without any ill eff ects. So when that dew starts settling, I like to pop some water off the boil into a bunch of Nalgene bottles and put them into each of our sleeping bags before bed. You can use this same water the next day for your drinks.

10 A BBQ OR FIREPIT IS A MUST

If we can help it, we’ll cook 90 percent of meals on the BBQ while camping – it just makes for a richer experience and provides a great focal point for the family while signalling the beginning of the evening. If you have your own BBQ set-up you’ll be a master of it: you’ll know what you need, how to cook on it, and you’ll look like the greatest parent of all time after dishing out hot sausages and perfectly charred chicken to everyone in the family. After you’re done cooking, throw some logs on and settle in for some fi reside activities and marshmallow toasting.

BONUS TIP: CREATE YOUR OWN TRADITIONS

This will happen naturally but it won’t hurt to help a few along. Create some traditions for your trips. Marshmallows every evening around the campfi re; going to the same spot every year; getting mackerel every time you’re in Dorset, or stopping at Gloucester Services for lunch whenever you’re heading west. Kids love this sort of thing and they will remind you of it. I think with some of those traditions and shared experiences it helps to keep life simple and the family bond strong.